Shoemaking apparatus



1943- A. M. SIMPSON 2,332,019

SHOEMAKING APPARATUS I Filed Oct. 15, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1943 A. M.SIMPSON 2,332,019

SHOEMAKING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 15, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct.19, 1943 SHOEMAKING APPARATUS Arthur M. Simpson, St. Louis, Mo., assinor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. 5., acorporation of New Jersey Application October 15, 1942, Serial No.462,097

8 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for use in assembling shoe parts andmore particularly to a device of the type illustrated and described inLetters Patent of the United States No. 2,263,570, granted November 25,1941, on an application of L. S. Curtin, for assembling the plug andvamp of a moccasin or a shoe having a moccasintype toe.

The apparatus illustrated and described in the Curtin patent comprises aplate for supporting a moccasin plug and a holddown which cooperateswith the plate to clamp the plug thereagainst and to hold it while amoccasin vamp is assembled therewith. By thus supporting the moccasinplug, the beveled edges of the plug and a vamp which have previouslybeen coated with adhesive may be readily pressed together, both hands ofthe operator being available for this operation thereby permitting rapidassembly of the parts.

It is an object of the present invention to facilitate still further theassembly of the vamp and plug and thereby to increase the output of theapparatus by the provision of improved means for holding the plug andfor gaging the heightwise position of the vamp relatively thereto. Thisis accomplished, in accordance with the illustrated embodiment of theinvention, by forming the support for the plug with a generally concavework-engaging surface and providing the central part of the holddownwith a clamping member having a correspondingly curved, convexwork-engaging surface so that when the plug is clamped between thesupport and the holddown the periphery of the plug is urged upwardly.The holddown is of sufiicient size so that it extends substantiallybeyond the periphery of the plug which is accordingly forced against theadjacent surface of the holddown, which thereby acts as a gage by whichthe heightwise position of the vamp relatively to the plug may bereadily determined. Still further to increase the output of theapparatus and in accordance with another feature of the invention, theouter portion of the holddown is formed of transparent material, such asglass, to permit observation of the work by the operator during theassembly operation. This transparent portion of the holddown providesthe surface against which the margin of the plug is forced and whichgages the heightwise position of the vamp so that the edges of the plugand vamp will meet properly. By forming this portion of the holddown oftransparent material, the operator is able to observe the margins of theplug and vamp as they are joined so that he is able to effect a properunion of the parts with a minimum of effort. It also facilitates theplacing of accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of apparatus in which theinvention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the support and holddownillustrating the manner in which a plug is held therebetween; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the device being employed to hold amoccasin plug while it is being assembled with a vamp.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the apparatus is illustrated as including abase i9 arranged to be supported on a bench 12. The base includes anupwardly inclined arm I 4 to which a support It for a moccasin plug issecured by a screw 18 (Fig. 2). The plug support has an inwardlyinclined work-engaging marginal portion 25 and an open central portionwhich thus forms a generally concave work-supporting surface. Forholding a moccasin plug P against the work-supporting surface 28 of thesupport Hi there is provided a holddown 22 which is supported formovement toward and away from the support It by a lever 24 pivotedbetween spaced ears 26 of the arm I i. The holddown 22 includes a clamp22% secured to the lever 24 by means of a pair of wing screws 3d. Theunder work-engaging surface of the clamp 26 has inclined outer edges toform a generally convex work-engaging surface complemental in shape tothe work-engaging marginal portion 2% of the support it. The clamp issomewhat smaller in area than the support which is in turn smaller inarea than the plug so that the margin of the plug is displaced upwardlyby reason of the curvature imparted to the plug when it is held betweenthe support and clamp.

The holddown 22 also includes a plate secured to the upper surface ofthe clamp 28 by screws as. This plate extends outwardly beyond the clamp28 a substantial distance so that it also projects outwardly beyond theperiphery of the plug P. This plate constrains the margin of the plugprojecting beyond the support it against upward movement and the marginis thus held in the position shown in Fig. 2 against the under surfaceof the plate. The plate thus forms a gage by which the heightwiseposition of a vamp V to be assembled with the plug may be readilydetermined so that the edges of the vamp and plug may be properlyregistered. To permit observation of the edges of the vamp and plug bythe operator during the assembly operation, the plate 32 is preferablyformed of transparent material, such as glass, which thus makes it easyfor the operator to make sure that the vamp and plug are being properlyassembled. The transparencyof the plate also assists the operator inproperly locating the plug on the support 16.

The support l6 and the clamp 23 are mounted for easy removal andreplacement by supports and clamps of other sizes so that the apparatusmay be employed for assembling Vamps and plugs of a wide range of sizes.In order that the holddown may engage the plug in the proper plane,adjustment of the angular relationship between the lever 24 and theholddown is afforded by the set screws 36 and a third screw 33 threadedthrough the upper end of the lever 24 and engageable with the uppersurface of the transparent plate 32.

The lower end of the lever 24 is pivoted to the upper end of a treadlerod 49 which may be connected at its lower end to a treadle, not shown,so that by moving the rod 40 downwardly the holddown may be movedupwardly away from the support 16. The holddown is normally urged towardthe support by a spring :2 surrounding the rod wand acting between aprojection 44 of the base I6 and a nut and lock nut 46 threaded on theupper-end of the rod 49.

In the use of the apparatus the operator depresses the treadle therebymoving the holddown away from the support against the force exerted bythe spring 42 to permit positioning of a moccasin plug on the support.The treadle is then released, whereupon the holddown moves toward thesupport to clamp the plug thereagainst. The margin of the plug is forcedagainst the .adjacent surface of the plate 32 by reason of the curvatureimparted to the plug by the generally concave surface of the support andthe comple mental surface of the clamp so that the edge of the plug isheld firmly in place against the plate. A vamp, which has its upper edgepreviously coated with adhesive, is then brought up against the undersurface of the plate and moved inwardly toward the plug until thebeveled edge of the vamp at the toe end is in contact with the edge ofthe plug. The vamp and plug may be suitably marked so that they may bereadily centered relatively to each other and the operator then by meansof his hands, starting at the toe end, forces the upper edge of the vampagainst the plug progressively from the toe end rearwardly until theparts have been properly assembled. The plate 32 insures that the edgesof the vamp and plug will meet properly by gaging the heightwiseposition of the vamp relatively to the plug, whereas the transparency ofthe plate permits-observation of thework by the operator so that arelatively inexperienced operator may effect a satisfactory assembly ofthe parts very rapidly.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for use in assembling shoe parts comprising a support for amoccasin plug, and a holddown arranged to clamp the plug against thesupport, said holddown including a portion of transparent materialarranged to engage the marginal portion of a plug on the support and toextend outwardly beyond said marginal portion to determine theheightwise position. of a vamp relatively to the plug in the assemblingoperation.

2. Apparatus for. use in assembling shoe parts comprising a support fora moccasin plug, and a holddown cooperating with said support to clamp aplug thereagainst, said holddown being substantially larger than saidsupport and arranged to engage the margin of the plug during theassembling operation, said holddown having a transparent portionpermitting observation of the work during the assembling operation.

3. Apparatus for use in assembling shoe parts comprising a support for amoccasin plug, a clamp for holding a plug against said support, and atransparent plate extending beyond said clamp and arranged to engage themargin of the plug while providing a surface forming a gage to determinethe heightwise position of a vamp re1atively to the plug during theassembling operation.

4. Apparatus for use in assembling shoe parts comprising a support for amoccasin plug, a clamp for holding a plug against said support, saidclamp being smaller in area than said support, and a transparent plateassociated with said clamp for engaging the margin of the plug whilepermitting observation of the work during the assembling of a vamp withthe plug.

5. Apparatus for use in assembling moccasin plugs and vamps comprising asupport having a generally concave supporting surface for a moccasinplug, a clamp having a convex work-engaging portion cooperating with thesupport to hold a plug thereagainst and to displace the marginal portionupwardly, and means extending laterally beyond said clamp and saidsupport for engaging the upwardly displaced margin of the plug and forgaging the heightwise position of a vamp while it, is being assembledwith the plug.

6. Apparatus for use in assembling shoe parts comprising a supporthaving a concave supporting surface, a holddown having an areasubstantially greater than that of the support and arranged to clamp amoccasin plug against the support, said holddown having .a generallyconvex central portion arranged to press the plug against the concavesurface of the support so that the margin of the plug is forced intocontact with the adjacent surface of the holddown which thereby acts asa gage to determine the heightwise position of a vamp relatively to theplug.

7. Apparatus for use in assembling shoe parts comprising a supporthaving a concave supporting surface, a holddown having an areasubstantially greater than that of the support and arranged to clamp amoccasin plug against the support, said holddown having a generallyconvex central portion arranged to press the plug against the concavesurface of the support so that the margin of the plug is forced intocontact with the adjacent surface of the holddown which thereby acts asa gage to determine the heightwise position of a vamp relatively to theplug, that portion of the holddown engaged by the margin of the plugbeing of transparent material to permit observation of the work by theopera tor in the assembling operation.

8. Apparatus for use in assembl ng moccasin plugs and Vamps comprising asupport having a generally concave work-engaging portion, a clamp havinga Work-engaging portion complemental in shape to the concave portion ofthe work support, means urging the clamp and support together to retaina moccasin plug therebetween and to displace the marginal portionupwardly, and a plate secured to the upper surface of the clamp toengage the upwardly displaced marginal portion of the plug and to form agage to determine the heightwise position of the vamp relatively to theplug, said plate being formed of transparent material to permitobservation of the work by the operator during the assembling operation.

ARTHUR M. SIMPSON.

